Bulgaria will open concession procedures for its former military airport in Ruse, which it hopes to develop for use by cargo and low-cost carriers, in early 2007, and follow up with several other idled Army airports at a later stage, officials said on Wednesday [22-11-2006].

The Defence Ministry transferred on Wednesday the ownership of seven airfields, including part of the former military airport near the city of Plovdiv, to the Transport Ministry. "By the end of this year we will have a decision by the Council of Ministers for concession [on Ruse airfield], so we could start the procedure as soon as January 3," Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev told a news conference. He expressed hope that a concessionaire for Ruse airport, which has been idled for 15 years, could be found within 15 months after the procedure opens.

The transport ministry sees the facility as potential terminal for cargo and low-cost carriers and its estimates indicate the need of 13 million euro ($16.8) investment over a 35-year concession term. NATO newcomer and 2007 European Union member Bulgaria has 33 military airfields, most of them idled and with outdated equipment and infrastructure.

"As much as possible military airfields should be transferred to the Transport Ministry and given under concession with a decision of the Council of Ministers," Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov told the same news conference. The airports are currently a significant financial burden to the Defence Ministry and the state is losing opportunities to sustain its economic development through their use, he added.

The defence ministry will keep only seven airports active, including the two that will serve U.S. troops to be deployed in four Bulgarian military facilities. In April, Bulgaria and the USA agreed that U.S. troops would be deployed in Bulgaria on rotational training tours and use the airfields of Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo.